


Trouble in Taris

by Marckontin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25982155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marckontin/pseuds/Marckontin
Summary: A recently hurt rebel special operations officer must come to terms with her recent loses amidst a new mission as she is hunted through the under city of Taris with her new teammates
Relationships: Original Imperial Character(s) (Star Wars)/Original Rebel Alliance Character(s)





	Trouble in Taris

Chapter 1: A frigid welcome  
Asteroid mining complex Karrat-412 was no one’s idea of a vacation destination. The air ducts were there as an afterthought, and the most veteran miners often carried their rebreather at all times. The species who found oxygen to be a luxurious comfort still made sure to know where the nearest pressure suit was in case the room depressurized all of a sudden. The miners knew the company only kept them around because it was slightly cheaper than maintaining droids, and the people who arrived to work in this mine did not come if they had anywhere else to go or if they were not wanted everywhere else.  
The only thing that might raise a suspicious eye to anyone would be the outside security measures the company had taken to ward of any unwanted visitors that might be venturing near the Yavin system  
The hanger of the asteroid had 2 hangars for transport ships which came every second rotation, and the 3rd and 4rth hangers were filled with a full wing of fighters that were always prepped and ready to intercept and defend. The outer crust of the asteroid perfectly hid the reinforced interior which was more than capable of taking punishment that would put a corvette ship to shame.  
None of the miners got paid enough to worry about that since as far as they were aware they had free roam of the mining complex. The only reason they could conceive was that the minerals they were getting were increasing in value because the empire often used them to make under-armour for the ISB operatives. Having the complex not be outwardly imperial would surely help it appear lowkey from imperial enemies.

The guards usually patrolled enough to keep up appearances for the sake of making their presence known, they always made sure to keep their distance from the miners,either out of professional courtesy or because they didn't want to get too attached. Unlike the miners though the guards were often swapped in for different rotations, probably to keep them from going mad while inside the base.

When the miners were not working they often hung out in the mess hall or organized get-togethers in each other's quarter to catch the latest gladiatorial matches from nar shaddaa or the swoop bike races in Bespin. They often saved their meager pay to put in a logistics request for better food and perhaps if they were lucky a message home   
Yes the miners enjoyed their quiet existence in the Asteroid, away from the flashy battle of Yavin 4 a few rotations ago. No farm boy burdened with great destiny would ever grace the halls of the complex, no scoundrel would ever let his desire to be good direct him towards helping this base, and no princess would ever inspire the hearts of millions to action and to bravely challenge evil while within these walls.  
And that is because as far as the majority of the galaxy ,including large parts of the rebel alliance , This small mining asteroid was simply an underperforming place for the desperate to try and edge out a living while away from the eyes of the galaxy .

For Fori-Boraz reality was very,very different. Because in the areas of the Asteroid the miners had no idea existed, hidden behind false panels and cloaked with a stealth field generator for the secret hanger was the fully stocked and thriving Moon strike base.

The base was not an impressive size, with one main hub that acted as kitchen, mission briefing room and hangar. The base was jokingly referred to as cosy by the crew stationed there, someone had yet to laugh at this joke but the crew repeated it to each other as more of a daily ritual than anything else. To one end of this main center is the communications and logistics hub, where all the food and supplies for the daily necessities of both the mine and the base is accounted for and taken care of as well as where all secured communications and surveillance of both the asteroid complex as well as the perimeter sensors is managed. Opposite that hallway is the armory and rec room for the operatives on board, where racks of blasters are placed along a Dejarik table that has been a bigger threat to the operations of the base than the empire ever had, the sentients working in the center hub, are at first and second glance really well armored miners, as they dig away at data files and handling the logistics of the base.  
In the middle of the center hub was the stairs that led down to the barracks, small units separated in small clusters by units. They were just small enough that people would need a really good reason to convince themselves they were not going mad when spending too much time alone in the rooms. It was in the room at the very back of the second to last branch of the main barracks hallway that laid the recently promoted captain Fori .

She was stuck in her bed,stuck because of the injury she had been waiting to heal but still itched, stuck in a rank and command she did not earn after her previous C.O got blasted during the last operation, stuck relieving the memories of each of the deaths that led to her getting to where she currently was, alone. All in all she was stuck trying to find something to do but having been left in the dark after her entire squad got wiped in an operation gone wrong trying to get information from a defector.  
Her remaining leku twitched at the thought of how that operation had cost her everything, Froley had joked that bothans had been raised with the skill of information stealing from the crib, he didn't make it far once the alarm was tripped. Fori stood from her bunk and went to wash her face, Dextra and Grotto got separated from the rest of the team as they tried to run back to the extraction point with the package and their comms were cut off to the sound of blaster fire and screams. Fori looked for her jacket with the new patches that indicated her in field promotion, they were right above the scorch marks from the blaster shots she had avoided while escaping barely a week ago. Lastly Heeran, poor poor Heeran stayed behind to make sure she made it to the ship with the information safely, the last Fori saw of them was their back as they ran to another ship that exploded right before she jumped to lightspeed.   
Fori stood up from her bed,her clothes wrinkled and smelly from days of wearing them without removal, besides that the only smell was the overwhelming smell of bacta cream that was helping heal and soothe the missing leku wound, the hum of the lightsaber that had almost taken her entire head still thrummed in her head from time to time. She considered going to the washer and trying to clean some semblance of self into herself with water and soap. Instead she went to her closet and picked out one of her spare uniforms, she changed being very careful to avoid the ache of her muscles from having barely moved for so long, She wasn't looking forward to having to enter physical training again in order to get back in fighting shape. Even changing and moving she had already gone around her room twice, annoyed she went to wash her face before heading out. She needed space, she looked at the hologram display of the time on her wall, it was closer to dinner time than anything else and Fori figured being seen eating would at least help keep the base from worrying about her. The base over the past solar rotation had become to home to her, and while it had been mostly her team who got to leave on mission, every other member of the staff worked diligently to make the base be on solid shape and ready to help, Fori had become close with most of the people on board and it had hurt to separate herself from them while she worked through her failures. 

Fori left her quarters groggy, heavy in her step, and determined to get a cup of the good caf before the recruits and base staff took it all. Her blaster holsters were warm partners at her side. Her uniform would not have passed any formal inspection but thankfully there were few enough rigid rules on the base that you could avoid the need to be formal to maintain discipline. Her quarters were at the end of the barracks so while she usually got to enjoy her privacy it also meant that if she wanted to get to the caf she so desperately needed she would need to leg it without seeming desperate, the recruits had an uncanny ability to sense her desperation for caf, she wondered if there was a jedi hidden amongst them sometimes. The hallway seemed empty and daunting given Fori had not left her rooms for a week and was also heavily reconsidering blaming her wound for going back.  
Fori laughed at herself when she stopped to consider how after being alone in her quarters weeping and injured for a few months the first worry out of her mind was making sure she wasn't stared at by the other members of her section.She really shouldn't have been worried because unless someone had moved recently her entire section would be empty, the people who used these items had not come back from theri last mission several months ago.

As she walked quickly she noticed a door with captain Grinsky open, the rodian was wearing his blast armour underneath a gnar jacket, his blaster rifle slung across his shoulders as their rodian eyes made eye contact with Fori.  
Fori didn't know what hurt less the way their star full eyes looked her over, or the fact that he simply gestured ahead. He had come out of Heeran’s room, and did not seem to be missing anything or picking up anything. He probably took the room after it was confirmed that the other members of moon squadron would not be coming back. Fori stopped dead in her tracks trying to process what was happening, Grinsky raised his hands in understanding before Fori exploded at him. His leathery yellow and green skin smelled heavily and his hands shook, he started to speak and explain. “ Look Fori, you came back bad from that mission, you didn't speak , did not communicate, you didn't even leave your room for food. You had us all worried, Aarga didn't want to disturb this area of the base at all until you called us in but I wanted to make sure you were eating and that you were safe. We decided this was a compromise” he gestured to the room behind him where a couple of uniforms were folded in a corner and a sanitary strip was laying against the mirror near the basin, nothing else had been touched in the room. As I saw that,Grinsky lowered his hand to my shoulder and gestured to the kitchen. “ Come on you need some real food in ya, besides Aarga has had to be talked down from taking a leave of her post in communications just to come baby sit you”, Fori had no choice but to laugh at the notion of the very matronly Zabrak woman coming in with food and medicine, Fori surprised and trapped in her room as Aarga took the entire room with her personality.  
30 minutes later Grinsky and Fori were enjoying a nice cup of caff while discussing the possibility of getting a new commanding officer for the station. Well that and Grinsky was complaining about having to make appearances and sending some of his men to guard and patrol the miners to keep up said appearances. How some of his guards often had to go and stay with the miners for extended periods of time to make sure none of them were anything more than they appeared ect ect. “You guys in spec ops don't get it, it's hard to avoid the boredom , my men are properly trained and loyal but at the rate we are being used the empire will have their job done for them by the boredom of the miners who think they outnumber us, some of them have started actively searching around the mining sections for extra rations , or trying to sneak in blasters. I tell you Fori its such a dull assignment, that id be surprised if after a week of covering a shift you didn't come abc begging to go abc out in the field”  
Fori for her part was simply enjoying the morning caf, and the companionship. It was even worth her taking out her extremely rusty rodian in order to more amicably talk with Grinsky. The hangar was abuzz with activity as the attendants made the daily safety and security checks, the local security force was especially on point with ordered uniforms and fully charged blasters wanting to make a good impression on the new commander that was to arrive soon on the supply runner that came to the base.

Fori herself knew she should have dressed better to meet the new commanding officer, but couldn't bring herself to do so and therefore dressed as she had usually dressed under her last commanding officer’s presence. Grinsky had dressed in up to code blast armour and a very much non regulation overcoat, mostly as an attempt to ward off the rigid cold that the asteroid constantly exuded.  
Fori and Gronsky kept chatting until one of the officers from the radar area came up to them to say that a ship was entering the protected space of the asteroid. A single troop carrier with an escort was coming in, two old Cutlass-9s were running security on it.   
The air around Fori felt more frigid and stiff as the ship approached, her skin sent shivers down her spine. The ship landed very carefully in the center of the hangar, its two escorts landing alongside it just as skillfully. The tecs went to help the ships be refilled and to check its systems for trackers and other mechanical issues.

All the onlookers came to form up on both sides of the ramp that the ship slowly unveiled, out of the inside came a human woman, with pristine white hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a commander's badge with an alderaanian officer’s jacket. Fori had heard the new commander was apparently close friends with one of the heroes of the battle of yavin. Fori wondered why this person with the possibility of working as a commander for a more prominent unit had chosen instead to lead a recently diminished unit of spies.  
After the new commander came a devonian man, he had brilliant crimson skin and curled horns on the side of his head, he carried no emblems of ranking but walked seemingly unbothered down the ramp alongside the new commander. From the escort ships came two pilots who were all smiles as they got out of their cockpits and swaggered over to the recreation room the way all pilots seem to do when they are out of their ships.

Grinsky and Fori walked forward as the two most senior officers on base and saluted the new commander in chief. “Welcome commander to Moonstrike base, glad to have you with us” said Gronsky in a not insincere tone of voice, Fori for her part simply saluted and assented to the welcoming regard. The new commander walked forward and again Fori felt her blood run cold,”Thank you for such a kind welcome Crater Base, for those uninformed my name is Winter Retrac and I will be taking operational command of this base starting today.”  
She announced quite pleasantly to those around Grinsky and Fori, then quieter she said “ i’ll introduce myself to the entire base after I get settled in, but I have a job for your squad captain Boraz”. There it was the source of the chills that had been making themselves known ever since the ship was announced.  
Then she turned directly towards Fori and said, “Captain I believe we have some very important business to talk about once we have a moment to spare”. Commander Winter then proceeded to introduce her companion, the Devonian named Fowler, no rank given. 

Fowler was all things considered low profile for what Fori had seen of their species. Fowler was dressed in a large coat with heavy fur on its collar, constellations were drawn in silver on its dark royal azurre coat. Their shirt was a half open button up with tattoos very evidently seen on the scarred skin underneath. Jewelry bounced around his horns as he walked beside winter,his hands inside his coat pockets  
He walked and presented themselves to Fori and Grinsky grinning from ear to ear.  
“How are you, it is a pleasure to meet you, since from what I hear we will be working together quite frequently in the future.” His basic evidently had rusted which was odd given how devaronians primarily spoke basic in their homeworlds.

He shook our hands nicely enough before Commander Winter called us over to an operations table.  
Once we entered Commander Winter placed herself at one of the consoles and introduced a memory drive into the computer. The machine's soft transparent hologram sputtered into life accompanied by a very low hum. On the hologram came the form of a man with very heavy eyebrows and a handsome jawline, the empire uniform was adorned with medals of various accolades. Fori and Grinsky saw his name and planet show.  
“Major Fae here is the poster boy for the Taris governor, he has been doing promotional tours and fly bys across the entire planet in attempts to woo the upper crust of the upper city. He also has been leading the squads into the undercity that suppress any attempts at insurgency or freedom of expression. Taris is a key part of a series of old tried and true hyper lane trade routes that the alliance could really use to solidify logistic activities in between bases. What I need from this team is for you guys to head over to there, make contact with some of the swoop gangs there that have been willing to aid you in setting up a shortstop base on the planet so long as we get rid of Major Fae and his trooper squads, here is the issue if word gets out that rebel operatives went and wiped out the government efforts to get rid of swoop gangs it would bring unwanted attention to the system. So you are to make sure Major Fae gets into an incident, ocne that has happened i'll need you two with the help of the Beks swoop gang to find a space where we can make a pitstop for the alliance”

Fori was just stuck there trying to process all the information she had just been given, The mission didn't sound too tough with a full team but she was alone on this. Even with Grinsky joining her on this mission, something she still wasn't sure was good idea, since Grinsky was the type to shoot first and sort it all later , Fori still would need a third member of the team in order to have a solid operating plan for the entire mission, not to mention someone good with technology who could handle sending encrypted transmissions and knew the proper protocol.   
Winter looked at Fori and in two seconds read everything she was thinking , “ Captain FOri dont worry im not sending you alone on this mission, Captain Grinsky you are hereby transferred and demoted to the second in command of Moonstrike squadron, apologies for your demotion but the need of the rebel alliance of this supply lines is great at the moment. As for my companion Fowler, he is a transfer from another special operations team and will be serving as your main tech support.”

Fori had no choices left on which to object to the mission,and even Gronski seemed to accept his demotion and being placed to work under her. All that was left was getting the materials and leaving for the mission.Fiori's remaining leku twitch slightly as she sighed and just looked at her new squad with what she hoped was confidence. “ Alright squad go grabbed what you need, Fowler Grinsky will take you to the barracks and you can pick a section to set your stuff down in, you better change into something more discrete because the only credentials we have at hand are for energy cell merchants.We meet here in 3 hours for final preparation and then we set off”  
To their credit Fowler and Grinsky both saluted and went down to the barracks to get ready, leaving Fori alien with Commander Winter who had been quietly staring at her ever since she started speaking. She seemed to want to ask a question but decided against it as she wished her luck and went to more thoroughly introduce herself to everyone on the base so that they knew who she was and what she was going to be doing while here.

By the time the message had been passed through the base for her address Moonstrike squad was already in lightspeed, and Fori decided to leave her worries for after she finished her mission. Afterall someone had to do it, and if it would help keep her people and her base better equipped and fed then she was glad to have a way of helping.


End file.
